Chronic — continued from Page 66
video or in a trial, because they have no dog in the hunt. Make sure you spend time with the
witnesses, and keep your instincts up determining whether they’re trying to sell you on a story to help make their friend money or whether they’re telling you the truth. Don’t let the plaintiff play you into making the case more than it is, which costs so much time and money, and ultimately leads to the inevitable crash & burn at a trial. Conversely, if the witnesses are credible, start thinking about order of presentation and where the emphasis needs to be in themes for trial. Don’t overstate things, of course; pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered. I find it helpful for both me and the plaintiff to communicate about their pain
and its effect over time, and I commonly use e-mails for this. They write me a diary or so in intervals. And I ask their spouse, their mother, their roommate, as exam- ples, to chime in every once in awhile also. This allows you to see more than just what the medical reports tell you. By this point in the article you can see that the key is communication and acting upon that communication. Also, under- stand that the best way to appreciate what the pain means to your client is to visit them in their home, and perhaps in their workplace, to see their accommodations, their evidence of damages. This could be a set of golf clubs with accumulated dust on them. A picture is worth a hundred words. But you will never see that until you go to their house.
Who is affected? This is the critical question. Once
you know the answer to this, you know who will make the cut for potential trial witnesses on damages. You need to show the jury the people who are affected by the plaintiff’s injuries. If they don’t show up, and connect with the jurors, you will be in a tough situation and left to prove your case with “hired guns” and a plain- tiff who the defense will say is looking for “a windfall” or “a jackpot.” Keep in mind who your key lay witnesses are from the plaintiff’s personal or business life and choose jurors with them in mind. Connecting with the jury is a key to
winning. Jurors “know” you, the lawyer, are full of it; they may think the plaintiff is too. But witnesses are usually inde- pendent and they are willing to listen to their voices and conform “justice” to the impression they leave.
Don’t send your plaintiff to their Defense Medical Examination
Why are we different? — We have a
without an excellent nurse observer! ***
team of nurses to meet your needs. ***
• You’ll get a detailed typed report and CD audio recording of what actually occurred during the examination — and witness testimony, if the need arises, to refute inconsistencies in the DME doctor’s report.
• The nurse professionally and (if necessary) assertively interfaces with the examiner and stops any inappropriate questions.
• Your client will be more comfortable knowing that you sent an experienced nurse observer to accompany them at their DME.
MICHAELHAIBY, RN
www.NurseObserver.com (661) 252-3435 Cell: (661) 414-6972
LNCassist@aol.com 68— The Advocate Magazine JULY 2011
Conclusion Think about the power of those wit-
nesses for trial presentation, or even in a settlement video, when you’re assessing who is affected. And make sure there is variance. They should know the plaintiff for a significant period of time. There should be little duplication in potential testimony. Be snappy in eliciting their testimony on damages. Keep it real. Keep it moving. Jurors live in a TV age with a remote control at the ready. They’ll tune you and your case out if they think you’re pandering to them, “putting on a show.” Make your points and move on. But some real drama, some poignancy, never hurts. Joseph Barrett is a partner with The
Cochran Firm, and is an experienced trial lawyer specializing in traumatic brain injury, catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases arising from product liability, civil rights, neg- ligence and governmental liability. He has been a CAALA member for over 20 years, and has served CAALA on the Board of Governors since 1999 and currently serves on the CAALA Executive Committee.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104